misdeed

C2+ Topic:Law & Government

US /ˌmɪsˈdid/ UK /ˌmɪsˈdiːd/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a wicked or illegal act; a wrongdoing

He was eventually called to account for his many misdeeds.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a wicked or illegal act; a... wrongdoing offense transgression crime sin trespass misconduct

Opposites

good deedvirtue

Word family

Related forms deedmisdomisdoing

Etymology

From Old English misdǣd ('evil deed, wrongdoing'), from mis- ('wrongly') + dǣd ('deed'), from Proto-Germanic *dēdiz.

mis- Old English dǣd Old English *dēdiz Proto-Germanic

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Topics

Law & Government Word Formation & Derivatives

# misdeed

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˌmɪsˈdid
**IPA (UK):** ˌmɪsˈdiːd

## Meanings
1. a wicked or illegal act; a wrongdoing

## Examples
- He was eventually called to account for his many misdeeds.

## Synonyms
- wrongdoing
- offense
- transgression
- crime
- sin
- trespass
- misconduct

## Antonyms
- good deed
- virtue

## Related Forms
- deed
- misdo
- misdoing

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: mis-
- Root: dǣd
- Root: *dēdiz

## Etymology
From Old English misdǣd ('evil deed, wrongdoing'), from mis- ('wrongly') + dǣd ('deed'), from Proto-Germanic *dēdiz.

## AI Etymology
Misdeed comes from Old English misdǣd ('evil deed, wrongdoing'), from mis- ('wrongly') + dǣd ('deed'), from Proto-Germanic *dēdiz. The prefix supplies the first semantic turn, while the base carries the lexical core of the word. As a noun, it denotes "a wicked or illegal act; a wrongdoing", keeping the historical idea close to its dictionary sense. Relevant historical forms include Old English mis-, Old English dǣd, and Proto-Germanic *dēdiz. Related words include deed, misdo, misdoing.

## Topics
- Law & Government
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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misdeed

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